Families of Israeli hostages rally to demand Netanyahu reach swap deal with Hamas

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) – Relatives of Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip marched in Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening to demand Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach a prisoner swap deal with Hamas.

According to Israel Hayom daily, families of the captives marched from Dizengoff Square ahead of Netanyahu's address to the US Congress on Wednesday.

Netanyahu arrived at Capitol Hill, the US Congress headquarters, on Wednesday evening, where he was scheduled to address the assembly.

Israeli Channel 12 earlier reported that an Israeli negotiation team postponed a scheduled visit to Qatar on Thursday till next week for talks on a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.

The visit was postponed to await the outcome of a scheduled meeting between Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden in Washington on Thursday, the channel said, citing an unnamed well-placed source.

“During their meeting, Netanyahu and Biden will discuss the framework of the deal and how to proceed with it. Therefore, the Israeli team will head to Qatar after their meeting,” the source added.

For months, the US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip.

However, mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

More than 39,100 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 90,200 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio